Tag Archives: bank

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Alpenglow, Trees, and Granite

July 22, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 9 Comments

This is one of my favorite locations in the Yosemite back-country and, in fact, in the entire Sierra Nevada range. This beautiful sub-alpine basis contains three lovely lakes and is surrounded by varied terrain that includes distant views, peaks and ridges towering above, lodgepole pine forests, meadows small and large, and an open view to the west that often provides stunning light late in the day.

As is usually the case, I was camped at the of the three lakes – this time for several days of photography – and I had headed to the upper lake late in the day to do some evening photography. I have photographed there quite a few times, but I still haven’t come close to exhausting the photographic potential of the place. On this evening I knew that I wanted to be ready to photograph the golden hour light, but I was also interested in the smaller groups of trees that grow among the granite boulders and I wanted to see what might develop as alpenglow struck the glacial slopes above the lake.

There is a small, fun twist to the story of this visit. I took a semi-cross-country route to the upper lake from my camp at the lower lake, and because I knew that I’d be returning alone in deep twilight or after dark, on the hike up I was concentrating intensely on fixing a series of landmarks in my mind for the return hike. I was so single-minded about this that I made it all the way to the lake and my first intended subject (a small shoreline tree) without looking around much. It was only a moment after arriving that I got out of focus-on-the-route mode and looked around. I had walked right past the campsite of a couple of photographers without even seeing them, much less saying “hi.” Turns out that the photographers were John Sexton and Anne Larsen. After exchanging greetings and conversation, I went about my business of shooting along the edge of the lake. (If I recall correctly, John was shooting nearby as I made this exposure.)

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Two Gulls, Ocean and Horizon

July 20, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two sea gulls glide along the top of coastal bluffs above the Pacific Ocean north of Santa Cruz, California.

Since I’ve related the basic story previously – more than once – I’ll keep it short this time. Since I live within an hour or less of the California coast, I head over that way frequently to photograph. Among my favorite subjects are the pelicans that travel up and down (but mostly, for some inexplicable reason up) the coast, riding the updrafts along the tops of coastal bluffs. I had some free time on this day, so I headed over with photographing the birds as one of my possible goals.

When I got to this familiar spot, there were no pelicans. (Eventually a few did fly past, but this was not a good day for pelicans.) Before moving on to other subjects I thought I’d at least stay here a while and practice the skills involved in photographing these birds in flight since even though there were no pelicans, there were plenty of other obliging birds. Most of the time it is difficult to get two gulls in the frame once they get close and start to fly past, but these two hung close enough together to be in the same frame, and their low trajectory placed them right in front of the deep blue water, with the fog-softened horizon near the top of the frame.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Gull, Sky, and Fog

July 16, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A solitary gull flies above California’s Pacific Ocean coastline with a fog bank and blue sky beyond.

With some free time earlier this week, and the excuse of driving my son to a summer-session class at UC-Santa Cruz, I headed north from Santa Cruz looking for things to photograph. Because there was a lot of fog, even in the middle of the day, fog was one of my general subject ideas. And I almost always make at least a quick stop at a couple of bluff-top locations that I know of where shore birds often glide by very close as they ride the updrafts from the ocean winds. It turned out that my first stop was precisely one of these locations. With nothing else specific in mind at this midday hour, I figured I would at least spend a bit of time honing my skills and tracking and photographing birds in flight.

Although sea gulls are not necessarily my favorite subjects, there sure were plenty of them to practice on! At the spot I picked, they first become visible perhaps 10-15 seconds away as they come around the edge of a bluff to the south. As they approach they tend to vary their altitudes, with some dropping low enough that they disappear behind the cliff and others going so high that only their shaded undersides are visible. But a few come very close at almost eye level.

I almost always learn something new when I photograph birds in flight and this session was no exception. While in retrospect it seems like one of those “Well, duh!” realizations, I figured out that really strong winds tend to upset the birds ability to remain level, and for this reason they are constantly adjusting to remain level. From moment to moment the wings move into interesting positions or they find themselves tilting wildly to get back on course. This is much more interesting than what they do in benign conditions, where they often seem to just… coast.

So, add one more thing to watch for as they fly past. This isn’t an easy thing, and I have the greatest admiration for those who are really great at photographing birds in flight – or “BIF,” as some call them. The first challenge is simply to keep the moving birds in the viewfinder when using a long focal length lens. (I advise practicing the process of simply following the birds without even firing the shutter at first.) But that’s not enough. You must also attempt to keep the bird(s) in a position within the frame that is aesthetically interesting and which will position the target under the active AF points on the camera. Easier said than done! Then there is the matter of trying also be aware of what the bird is doing – watching wing and head position and so forth. On top of that, you ideally also want to be aware of the what else is in the frame – sky, clouds, water, other birds – and factor that into the decision about when to press the shutter. There are exposure challenges, too, especially with birds like this gull that have white on their backs… and this portion of the bird is in direct sun.

Let’s just say that – for me at least – it takes a lot of exposures to get a few shots that I like.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Spring Flooding, Merced River

May 20, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

The Merced River overflows its banks during the spring runoff and floods surrounding meadows and lowlands in Yosemite Valley.

I’m tempted to go on about how the spring runoff is my favorite time of year in Yosemite Valley – but I’ve probably already written about how autumn is my favorite time, or how much I love winter in the Valley, and… :-)

In any case, there is a lot to like about spring in Yosemite Valley. For example, seasonal waterfalls that many visitors never see come to life. I believe that the thin fall across the Valley in this photograph is Sentinel Fall. There is another small one to its right in the v-shaped gully, but I do not know its name. The meadows come back to life and the trees begin to get their leaves, and there is green everywhere. Especially in a heavy snowfall year like this one, the Merced River rises as the snow begins to melt, and riverbanks overflow and meadows flood – as is happening in this photograph of a section of the river near Leidig Meadow along the north side of the Valley.

I’m surprised that there are not more photographs produced in this part of the Valley. I suppose the explanation may include the fact that few of the main iconic sights are directly visible from here, the current prohibition against parking along the road in this area, and the fact that parts of the river trail were underwater. But in the right light – which here can occur at times other than the typical early/late hours – Leidig Meadow and this curving section of the river with its shoreline trees can be very appealing, especially when the far canyon wall is muted by shadows.

I shot this a bit later in the day, not during the typical “golden hour” times at all. To get here I drove past this section of the road and walked back, alternately walking along the roadway (and occasionally leaving the narrow road as cars approached) and following the trail where it was not submerged. To make this photograph I walked down to the very edge of the rising Merced River and managed to find one spot that wasn’t too muddy.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.